Shipping crate



Nov. 27, 1934. H, N; KNOwLT-QN *111,982,437

' SHIPPING CRATE Filed oct. 7, 1926 .wf /f/ n oO JW@ M z i 3 w 2 3 6 Nov:y 27, 1934. H. N. AKNOWLTCJ Filed OGr..l '7. 1926 l Ms V, W7. 5 m n nU//l W.. L, H L l @LM U,

I (m1014116 X Patented Nov. 27, 1934 PATENT OFFICE SHIPPING CRATE Harry N. Knowlton, Chicago, Ill.,

assgnor, by

mesne assignments, to Signode Steel strapping Company, a, corporation of Delaware Application October 7,

\ 8` Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in preparing articles for shipment, and is particularly useful in the shipment of heavy steel plates such as are used in the manufacture of automobile bodies. In the transportation of such plates which are, for convenience, piled upon each other on the car oor, rthe weight of a load of plates amounts to many tons, and, therefore, blocking or other methods employed are entirely inadeguate to prevent damage to both the car and the shipment by the shocksof transportation.

One object .of my invention is 4to provide means for binding a shipment of plates, or other objects,

having a plurality of plane sides, into a single bulk.

Another object is the provision of a shipping crate for such articles, capable of being knocked down without destruction and capable of use for a multiplicity of shipments.

Another object is to provide such binding means or crating with flat thrust surfaces for co-operation with the walls of the car in resisting shocks of transportation.

Another object is to brace such a bulk composed of separate componentsrso as to preserve a bulk shape capable of (zo-operating With carl walls and oor to best resist deformation by shocks of transportation or otherwise.I

Another object is to provide for such binding and bracing by the use of standard steel strap stock.

Another object is to provide for the protection of such binding and bracing vstrap when in place.

Another object is the provision of a. system of crating for flat objects, permitting the limited movement of such objects in the freight car under shocks of transportation. I

Other objects and advantages of my invention will appear more fully from ,the following description and the accompanying drawings, in which similar characters lof reference indicate similar parts throughout the several views.

In the drawings:

`Figure 1 is a View in perspective showing an embodiment of my invention applied to at steel plates,

Figure 2 is a. front elevation of the same embodiment with the steel plates and strapping removed,

Figure 3 is a View in perspective of another embodiment of my invention, and

Figure-4 is a front elevation ofthe same with the binding and bracing straps removed.

The cratings chosen to illustrate the embodiments of my invention consist in general of ele- 1926, Serial No. 139,982

(Cl. 20G-60) ments which I have designated in their entirety as follows:

The bulkof plates bound together 10, the base member 11, the top member 12, risers 13-16, binding means 48-60 and bracing means 34 37, but I desire it to be understood that all of these elements need not always be. used together, but that the various sub-combinations of the same are capable of performing new and useful relsults.

M Referring to 'Figures 1 and 2, 10 indicates the bulk to be bound, here shown as a plurality of steel plates, but my invention may be used to Vcrateother objects than steel plates. 'Ihe base member 11 consists of'a plurality of longitudinal members or stretchers 24, 25 and 26 of a length greater than the corresponding dimension ofthe bulk to be bound 'and capable of extending beyond the same at each end and also. beyond a plurality of other members, risers and headers for a purpose further to be described.

The said stretchers may consist of a single piece or any number adapted to adequately support the base of the bulk 10 at a suicient number of points, and are preferably disposed with its or their exterior edges coinciding with the exterior lateral edge of the plates 10 in order that the binding straps 48--60 may bear,solely upon the 5 In order toproperly space the stretchers 24, 25

and 26 when the plurality of same are used and to provide an opening underneath the same for the insertion of the binding straps 48-60 I provide aplurality of spacers 27--31 of Aa number lsuiii- 100 cient to adequately support and space the said stretchers under load from the floor or other members used therewith, and as these members are only under compression and practically under no other strains, it is sufficient for the pres-` ent embodiment to provide the same with ordinary inch boards.

Underneath and supporting the said spacers I provide a plurality of longitudinal members 33 serving as the ultimate bearing members restiIo portation, the direction and intensity of said shocks have been found to be such thatV the average amount of movement or the resultant change of location is practically zero. In other words, the elects of shocks of transportation in all directions practically equalize each other. The members 33 may be constructed of twov by fours 'or of inch boards rmly nailed to the spacers 27-31, and the stretchers 24-26 at all points of intersection of the same, or they may be fastened together by any convenient means as bolts, screws, etc., providing a unitary base member for my crating. may be made of rough lumber, thereby presenting a greater frictional resistance to movement relative to the floor.

At each end of the said stretchers and above the same spaced a sufficient distance from the ends of the bulk 10 to permit the insertion of ordinary risers 13--16, I provide the transverse headers 23 and 32. The headers for the present purpose may be constructed of ordinary two by fours with their flat sides xed to the top of the ends of the stretchers 24-26, and all of equal length extending slightly beyond the edges of said stretchers on each side to an amount equal at least to the sum of the widths of a plurality of binding straps -for a purpose further to be described. Between said headers and the bulk 10, and mounted upon the side of the stretchers 24 and 26 I provide the vertical members or risers 13, 14, 15 and 16 lying against the ends of the plates on one side and bearing against the inside edge of the headers on the other side. The risers, as well as the headers, may be nailed to the stretchers with relatively few small nails, in order to permit the said members to move slightly relative to said stretchers under the tension of the bracing members, clamping the load.

The top member 12, which maybe removed as a unit from about the risers and the top ofthe bulk, may also be constructed of a plurality of stretchers 17 and 18 of a number suicient to lie upon the surface of the bulk. The stretchers 17 and 18 are likewise mounted in spaced relation extending with their exterior lateral edges along the edges ofthe plates to be bound, in order to permit the binding straps 48-60 to-bear solely upon the stretchers 17 and 18 and to clamp said stretchers about the plates bound. In the present embodiment, the stretchers 17 and 18 may be made of ordinary two by fours, and being also located at the top edges of the rectangular pile of steel plates, may provide an opening between them capable of receiving the upper ends of the risers 13-16, Which project upwardly beyond the said stretchers. The stretchers 17 and .18, like the stretchers of the base member 11, are

of' suiiicient length to project beyond the ends of the load 10 a distance equal at least tothe combined widths of a riser and a header, in order that the headers 21 and 22 may be provided and located upon said stretchers 17 and 1,8 transversely at their ends external to the said risers and bearing upon the same. The headers 21 and 22, like the headers of the base ll, are of equal length with said other headers, projecting beyond the stretchers 17 and 18 a distance sufficient to permit the application of a plurality of bracing straps as will be further described. The stretchers 17 and 18, headers 21 and 22 and spacers 19 and 20 are all xed together to form a unitary top mem- If desired, the members 33 ber, and for the present illustration I find it sui- .cient to provide the spacers 19 and 20 of ordinary inch boards, while the headers 21 and 22 should preferably be of the same size as the stretchers 17 and 18, namely two by fours. In applying this embodiment-of my invention to a load of steel plates, it is essential that the headers 21, 22, 23 and 32 be mountedl on their respective topand base members in such manner that they clamp the risers 13-16 against the ends of the plates bound, and for this purpose I may provide for mounting these headers on the stretchers by bolts and slots as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, but for ordinary purposes I also find that if the top and base. members are made to iit the steel plates closely, the joining of the said headers and stretchers by ordinary nails will-permit suilcient give to clamp the plates.

In assembling my shipping crate with the plates to be shipped, the base member 11 is first placed upon the car floor in the desired location and the risers most distant from the car door, as for in; stance risers 15 and 16, are nailed in place inside the header 23 upon the stretchers 24 and 26 projecting vertically upward. The steel plates l0 to be shipped are then loaded upon the base member 11, piling the same with their ends butting against the risers 15 and 16 and the edges coinciding as nearly as possible with the exterior edges of the stretchers 24 and 26, the crating members having been made of a size to t the plates shipped. When the desired number of plates have been piled upon the base member ll, the risers 13 and 14 are inserted between the opposite ends of the steel plates and the header 32 and are xed by nails, or other convenient fastening .means to the internal edges of the stretchers 24 and 26, projecting vertically against the edges of the steel plates.

The top member 12 is then placed upon t'ne top plate, the risers 13, 14, 15 and 16 being in.- serted in the top member within the space pro,

-vided between the headers 21 and 22 and the stretchers 17 and 18, and the pile of plates may be aligned vertically by a few hammer-blows upon a two by four held across the edges of the said plates in such manner that the pile of plates presents a substantially rectangular shape. The

binding straps 48, 49, 50 and 60, or any number' sufficient to bind the said cover member 12 to the base member 11 and clamp the said plates between them, are inserted through the base meme ber-11 in the spaces provided between the spacers 27-31, about the top member 12, and enclosing the plates 10 and the ends of the said binding straps having been placed in a stretching machine, 'said strap is tensioned until the base member, top member and plates are bound together to form a single bulk, whereupon the ends of the strap members are permanently sealed together, `preferably by the standard Signode seal, one form of which is disclosed in Flora Patent No. 1,252,680, dated January 8, 1918.

In order to further bind said crating members together, and to prevent relative sliding of the said plates upon each other, thereby deforming the shape of the bulk, I provide my shipping crate with bracing and binding means consisting of tension members on each side extending diagonally about the ends of the diagonally opposite headers; lfor instance, the steel strap 34 extends about the end of the header 22 diagonally across the surface of the bulk and about the header 23, and the ends of the said strap having been brought together they are likewise gripped by a stretching tool, drawing together under tension and permanently sealed. In this stretching operation I nd it desirable to apply a slight tension to each of the bracing members 34-37, before finally drawing up the same to their nal tension, using a plurality of stretchers to apply increments of tension to` each binding member successively until the desired tension is reached in all members, or I may apply tension to the diagonal bracing members 34 and 36 simultaneouslyand to the diagonal bracing members 35 and 37 simultaneously, thereby drawing up both ends of their respective headers against the exterior edges of their adjacent risers and compressing the said risers against the edges of the bulk to be bound, at the same time drawing the topmember downagainst the top of the load and the bottom member tightly against the bottom of the load.

It will thus be observed thatA I have provided means for clamping the said crating members together to form substantially a solid bulk and for bracing the same against deformation by slidingl of the plates relative to each other. It will also be observed thatv by providing upper andv lower crate members, of substantially the same length, and headers of substantially the same length, projecting on each side equal distances beyond the bracing straps, I have provided a crating member having lateral and end thrust surfaces capable of tting squarely against the end and side walls of the freight car, the ends of the headers 21,

22, 23 and 32 bearing against the wall of the car and holding the load spaced from the said walls protecting the bracing straps 34, 35, 36 and 37. Y Although I have shown the binding straps 48-60 used in conjunction with the bracing straps 34 37, itwill be obvious that the said bracing straps 34-37 may be used without binding straps to wholly bind the said top member 12 and the base member 11, clamping the plates between the same, and at the same time bracing said crate against relative sliding ofthe plates, or by drawing the binding straps 48-60 to a considerable tension for loads of certain types, said binding straps will be found-to be sufcient without the use of bracing straps. y

In theY embodiment shown in Figures 3 and 4 I have illustrated a simpleshipping crate of similar structure. In this embodiment the spacers 27-31 have been made of members of a strength adequate to serve as headers, and the functions of the headers 23 and 32 in Figure 2 are performed by the combined spacers and headers 23 and 32 of Figure 4. t

The base member 11 is constructed of a plurality of stretchers 24 and 26,l intermediate stretchers 42 being provided also .if necessary to adequately support the plates at their central portion, and in order to brace vthe load at the ends as well as at the sides, the stretchers 24 and 26, as well as 17 and 18 of the top member are made to extend equal distances beyond the headers 21, 22, 23- and 32 at each end. The spacers 23, 2 8, 30, 31 and 32 are constructed in the present embodiment of ordinary two by fours, and these spacers, in addition to maintaining the stretchers 24 and 26 spaced laterally, are arranged to also form openings together with the stretchers 'of a size capable of loosely receiving thel lower ends of the risers. 13, 14, 15 and 16. Thus the .combined header and spacer 23, the spacer 28,

the stretcher 24 and the adjacent stretcher, are` all so spaced as to receive the end of the riser 16 in such manner that the said riser `may be inserted in the opening between these members and held by their co-operating edges in vertical position. In a similar manner, the risers 13, 14 and 15 may be inserted in thev openings between their adjacent stretchers, spacers and headers and supported vertically.

It should be noted, however, that the spacers 19, 20, 28 and 30 should be located so as to have their edges which bear against the risers, slightly inside the external end edges of the plates bound in order that the said spacers may not interfere with the binding of the risers against the said plates. InA other words, the distance between the outside-edges of spacers 18 and 30 is slightly less than the length of the plates bound.

In order to provide for lateral play or sliding of the headers 23 and 32 underneath the stretchers 24 and 26, to bear against the lower ends of the risers 13-16, the headers 23 and 32 may be provided with openings 44 of a larger size or oblong shape to. permit relative sliding movement between these members, the bolts 42 being provided with washers 43 and inserted through bores in the lower member 33, header 23 and stretcher `24. In a similar manner, the headers 21 and 22 may be aixed to their respective stretchers 17 and 18 by bolts, a limited amount of movement between these members being permitted by elonthe risers 13`16 through the openings provided 1'15 between the headers -21 and spacer 19 and between spacer 20 and header 22 respectively. The binding straps 48-60 may be appliedA about the stretchers17, 18. 24 and 26, tensioned by means of a stretching tool and sealed in a manner previously described, after which the diagonal ten"-` sion members 34, 35, 36 and 37 may be applied `to the alternate headers 21 and 32 and 22 and 723 respectively, and by tensioning these diagonal `members the headers 21 and 22 will be drawn -down upon the stretchers 17 and 1 8 and inwardly to bear upon theupper ends of the risers 13,-16.

In a similar manner the combined spacers and headers 23 and 32 will bear upward upon the ends of the stretchers 24 and 26 and inwardly upon the lower ends of the risers 13-l6, clamping the plates or other bulk 10 Within the respective risers and stretchers and at the same time bracing the same against deformation from the rectangular shape or against relative sliding of the plates. b e tightened providing additional support for the said the crating may alsoA be braced against lateral sliding of the plates by the use of diagonal tension headers upon the stretchers, and if desired ius The ends of the bolts 42 maythen also 135 members 39 and 41 extending between the alter- 140 nate ends of the stretchers 17 and 26 and 718 and 24 respectively at each end of the crate.

It will thus be observed that I have provided a simple means for bulk binding of steel plates,

in' which the-crating 'members ymay be drawn 145 tightly about the bulk bound by diagonaly bracing members only, or said diagonal bracing members may be. usedM in commotion with binding straps extending about the crate and load.

While I have illustrated and described the pre- 15 ferred forml of construction 'for carrying my invention into effect, this is capable of modification.

plurality of stretchers under the bulk to be crated, a top member having a plurality o f stretchers above said bulk, a plurality of risers transverse to said bulk at each end of said stretchers, a plurality of headers each bearing against a plurality of stretchers and risers to clamp said bulk, diagonal tension members between said headers to bind the whole together.

and tension members binding said stretchers to said bulk.

2. A shipping crate comprising a base having a plurality of stretchers under the bulk to be crated, a top member having a plurality of stretchers above said bulk,a plurality of spacers for said stretchers, a plurality of risers transverse to said bulk at each end of said stretchers, a plurality of headers each bearing against a plurality of stretchers and risers to clamp said bulk, diagonal tension members between said headers to bind the whole together and tension members binding saidl stretchers about said bulk.

3. A shipping crate comprising a base having a plurality of stretchers under the bulk to be crated, a top member having a plurality of stretchers above said bulk, a plurality of risers transverse to said bulk at each end of said stretchers, a plurality of headers each bearing against a plurality of stretchers and risers to clamp said bulk, diagonal tensionmembers .on said headers to bind the whole together and means to protect said tension members.

4. A shipping crate comprising a base under the bulk to be crated, a top member above the bulk, a plurality of risers transverse to the bulk at each end and a plurality of headers for the top and base of the crate shiftable thereon for bearing against the risers and the top and base respectively, and tension members extending between diagonally disposed headers to cause the components of the crate to bear against the bulk.

5. In a crating for sheet metal plates, the combination of a plurality of longitudinally extending wooden members forming skids under said plates, with a plurality of steel'bands for binding said wooden members to said plates to prevent relative movement between said plates and wooden members, frame members extending transversely to the edges of said plates and frame members above said plates.

6. In a crating for sheet metal plates, the combination of a plurality of longitudinally extending wooden members forming skids under said plates, with a plurality of steel bands for binding said wooden members to said plates to prevent relative movement between said plates and wooden members, and means interposed between said plates and said bands at the corners of the package to protect said plates from said bands.

'7. In a crating, the combination of a plurality of frame members for engaging the sides of a body to be crated, certain of said frame members projecting transversely beyond adjacent frame members, auxiliary frame members slidably engaging said first mentioned frame members, and means for drawing said auxiliary frame members toward said body.

' 8. In a` crating, of frame members for engaging the sides of a body to be crated, certain of said frame members projecting ltransversely beyond adjacent frame members, auxiliary frame members slidably engaging said rst mentioned frame members, and means for drawing said auxiliary frame members toward said bodycomprising a plurality of diagonally extending tension members.

HARRY. N. KNoWL'roN.

the combination of a plurality 

